Sweetlamb 14th - 15th September 2019

[Billy]

Something to take away from this . What you need is someone who is really good at organising something like this, who is very popular with members , who is willing to put in the time and effort involved and still have a sense of fun . If only we had someone like this on the committee ........

[Gary s]

I for one was very unhappy to find out that Simon had been asked to step down form the committee and this was not put to the membership that voted him in.

[Mike R]

What’s with Simon being asked to step down? Shocking to learn about this through this posting. Things are clearly disintegrating if those few folks feel they can just get rid of Simon without even considering the wider members opinion. Bollox to this arrangement

[Dominic]

I would expect there to be some sort of consultation process on decisions like this... even if not required then perhaps out of courtesy to the members? Or the members don't count anymore?

I may take up cricket... it seems more gentlemanly

[Mike R]

Yep, at least cricket has some balls

[stevent]

Hi All

I understand your concerns.

Last Monday I was told I would need to find someone to organise the Sweetlamb trip. I’ve tried to do that myself - whilst on holiday - but unfortunately there were not enough takers.

Along with that, there have been a number of other issues which have arisen and which I discussed with other officers.

I then wrote to Simon with what I proposed and have not heard anything back.

The Forum isn’t the place to for members to speculate as to what has or hadn’t happened. I’m happy to meet all members who have concerns to discuss face to face. Please email me at [email protected]

Please take my word all actions have been taken in good faith and in the

Now what follows is what I drafted to Steve Braham’s post before the intervening

Thanks, I’ve reflected a lot on this myself. I came up with a similar conclusion: “someone like Derek” is where I got to. He ticked all those boxes. He pulled off a number of successful trips to Sweetlamb amongst the many other things he did. He was something of a legend and is very much missed...

Whilst I agree there is a gap, I think it important to recognise the contributions many members make, both on the committee and off it.

I have always thought what a fantastic group of guys and girls we have... one reason why I’ve stuck around.

Like any group we rely on some of its members to step forward and put something in, and to make stuff happen. In time maybe more legends will grow, I hope so and then my job will be done and I can retire!

There have been officer posts vacant since our AGM in January... and it’d be great to have some fresh blood join the committee ...

But equally, I know many don’t want to make such a big commitment / don’t have the time / etc etc - and I’d say just small inputs like leading the occasional run, or offering navigation tuition, or whatever - all help.

I agree 100% it should be fun, being part of the group should create a feel good factor.

As ever, if anyone has thoughts idea or reflections please let me or any of the officers know,

One thing we are going to try out is a lunchtime trail riding gathering, on the first Saturday of the month, at somewhere like Newlands Corner. We hope to get a few riding groups together and others can just turn up for a chin-wag and banter... details to follow soon

Steven








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[silvergull]

May I suggest as a long serving committee member that the ' critics' who seem to have some 'views', step up and join the committee, and take part in the various calls for volunteers etc when these are posted.Committee meetings are open to anyone to attend, it is very rare that anyone apart from the committee ever come along,( with one or two notable exceptions.) My own post, ie rights of way , has been posted as available for some time now, I am stepping down, soon: So how about it?

[Dominic]

May I suggest as a long serving committee member that the ' critics' who seem to have some 'views', step up and join the committee, and take part in the various calls for volunteers etc when these are posted.Committee meetings are open to anyone to attend, it is very rare that anyone apart from the committee ever come along,( with one or two notable exceptions.) My own post, ie rights of way , has been posted as available for some time now, I am stepping down, soon: So how about it?

Interesting use of inverted commas... Comes across as patronising which aligns to the content of your post which can be summarised as "if you are not on the committee, you can't have an opinion"... At least that's how I interpret it.

For most of the last year I have struggled to understand the changes that have taken place in Surrey TRF and how there seems to be an intent to drive away certain types of members.... And certain types of committee members too it seems.

[Billy]

So last Monday you were asked to organise the Sweetlamb trip ,was this two days after the committee dacided Simon should resign ? Most of the members who put their names down for that event might have been going because they had been on previous trips that Simon had organised and had a good time !
Why is the forum not the place to discuss how the members feel ? Is it too open ?
Simon was perfect for the Secretary job ,he was forward thinking ,proactive and very popular with the members .
The reason there is a gap is because the committee don't seem to realise "boys and girls just wanna have fun" thank you Cindi Lauper , just lighten up guys .
Simon is the most laid back bloke in the club , if he can't get through the "hoops" I cant imagine anyone else even trying .
We all know the committee do good work on our behalf and we are all grateful , but again ,lighten up !
Now to the BIG problem , a lot of members ride via a Whatsapp group . Why ??? We can go out with who we want where we want when we want .! We can post when we want to who we want . Nobody deletes or censors our posts and strangely enough we have a laugh , we have banter and funny videos and generally all is good . We usually ride every weekend and we all know where we are going !!!!
Nobody is going to take any committee posts because they will be stifled by the current committee ,why waste their time ,ask Simon !
I have been with the Surrey trf for a long time ,longer than anyone on the committee (anyone ever ride with Brian Wright ?) and have seen many ups and downs , we are definitely on a down at the moment . But membership is up , numbers don't make a club . When I joined there were only about 20 members but it was great fun .
This forum is dying .
This will probably be deleted before I finish writing it ,but I've come to expect that !!!!

[KirkWilling]

Well said Steve , my thoughts exactly .....

[silvergull]

Thank you., I have resigned, so one less problem for you. I hope you are able to step up and shape things how you prefer them to be. Best of luck, happy riding, bc

[Billy]

Thank you., I have resigned, so one less problem for you. I hope you are able to step up and shape things how you prefer them to be. Best of luck, happy riding, bc

Toys and pram ?